Tahoe Jeff

TahoeJeff · 04-09-2006, 08:38 PM

Hello, I figured I'd make a thread in here, so I could let everyone know when I've posted new stuff. I am Tahoe Jeff right now, but who knows..I could change it at any time. I am a one man band right now. I pull duties on all the instruments you hear, except on maybe a few songs you will hear that are collaborations with other artists. Punk rock has always been a big influence on me. I like it. This is all just for fun right now, but maybe I'll eventually write some serious stuff. Check out my myspace page to listen!

http://www.myspace.com/tahoejeffmusic

TahoeJeff · 04-09-2006, 08:39 PM

Here's what I have posted right now.
I uploaded a few songs.

1. Ring of Fire - This is a Johnny Cash cover. I always liked this song so I wanted to cover it, but have it sound different than Social Distortion's version.

2. Resolve - This is a cover of one of my favorite Lagwagon songs. The song is off of their album, "Resolve". Its a song about the death of their original drummer, Derrick. I wish my voice was stronger on this one, but its hard to sing like Joey Cape!

3. Sapporo - This is a really stupid song I made up one day. Its about having lunch at my favorite Sushi joint.

4. Dark Sky for a Dark Heart - This is a collaboration between Daniel from a band called The Neverknown. He played guitar and sang. I played drums and bass. We have never met. I downloaded his part from his web page and added my stuff to it. Technology is pretty rad.

fiveminuteplan · 04-09-2006, 11:13 PM

How do you record this stuff?

TahoeJeff · 04-09-2006, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiveminuteplan

How do you record this stuff?

I have a Boss BR-8 8 track recorder. I'll play each instrument....usually drums first. But sometimes I'll play the guitar first. It depends. Anyhow, I record all the tracks there, then I transfer them to my computer, where I've been mixing it with Krystal. I have Sonar, but I haven't had time to figure out how it works. It seems complicated. From there I'll mix it down into a wav file, then bring it into itunes and convert to mp3.

**Skeeter** · 04-10-2006, 12:24 AM

I like it. And, of course, you know that I like what you did with "Dark Sky for a Dark Heart."

***Art*** · 04-10-2006, 12:33 AM

I hope we can collaborate some in the future. Considering we have before, just never recorded. Maybe when I am able to make a trip up there.

**Skeeter** · 04-10-2006, 12:36 AM

Realistically, you're only about three hours away from myself as well...

fiveminuteplan · 04-10-2006, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TahoeJeff

I have a Boss BR-8 8 track recorder. I'll play each instrument....usually drums first. But sometimes I'll play the guitar first. It depends. Anyhow, I record all the tracks there, then I transfer them to my computer, where I've been mixing it with Krystal. I have Sonar, but I haven't had time to figure out how it works. It seems complicated. From there I'll mix it down into a wav file, then bring it into itunes and convert to mp3.

That's cool, I did the same thing for awhile with my Fostex 16 track and Cool Edit Pro. It was a pain, so I just got a firewire interface. One piece of advice I'd give you is to use some compression or hard limiting on the drums and vocals. I'm not sure if you're using any right now, but it doesn't sound like you are. I'd also throw a stereo compressor on the mix as a whole. There are a lot of wonderful, free VSTs out there.

fiveminuteplan · 04-10-2006, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skeeter

Realistically, you're only about three hours away from myself as well...

The only problem is crossing the border. From what I understand, neither side is too happy about people bringing music equipment across without shows scheduled.

TahoeJeff · 04-10-2006, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiveminuteplan

That's cool, I did the same thing for awhile with my Fostex 16 track and Cool Edit Pro. It was a pain, so I just got a firewire interface. One piece of advice I'd give you is to use some compression or hard limiting on the drums and vocals. I'm not sure if you're using any right now, but it doesn't sound like you are. I'd also throw a stereo compressor on the mix as a whole. There are a lot of wonderful, free VSTs out there.

Cool, I'm still learning what all that stuff does. If you could provide me with some links or something that would be awesome. Thanks for all your help!

TahoeJeff · 04-10-2006, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art

I hope we can collaborate some in the future. Considering we have before, just never recorded. Maybe when I am able to make a trip up there.

NO BIG DEAL REPRESENT!!!!!!!!!!!

TahoeJeff · 04-10-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skeeter

Realistically, you're only about three hours away from myself as well...

This is true....hmm

fiveminuteplan · 04-10-2006, 02:08 PM

http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-series.php

Usually, all you have to do to install these is place the DLL file in a folder within your recording program folder called "Plugin(s)." It will then show up in the list of effects. The dynamics effects (compressor and limiter) have presets which you can try out.

If you've never had much experience using a compressor, you might run into problems where the audio sounds like it's pumping. This is usually due to the attack and release settings. Sometimes, you just have to mess with them until it sounds right, although you can use an automatic setting which will calculate the attack and release as it goes. You'll want to use soft knee compression most of the time.

I'm unfamiliar with that Krystal program you're using, so I don't know if it has this; but what I do in Cool Edit Pro is import the wav files and use hard limiting on them. I find that doing that is more transparent than a compressor and accomplishes the same thing. If Krystal has it, all you have to do is set the max amplitude to -3 and amplify the signal until it's pretty much a straight line across the top and bottom. You'll want to listen to it and make sure you can't actually hear the limiting. If you can, you'll want to decrease the amplitude. This works especially well for drums and bass. It can work for guitar too, but vocals usually need a compressor.

TahoeJeff · 04-10-2006, 10:23 PM

Ok...I tried messin around in Krystal. It had some compressor and limiting effects so I messed around with them on Resolve. Accoding to the program I don't have any more clips. That is good. I also seem to have been able to get the drums to be more distinct. I'm still new to the recording stuff, so correct me if I'm wrong, but the compressor pretty much just makes the track louder?

Here's a link to the new version.

http://www.christianguitar.org/forum...id=66551&stc=1

fiveminuteplan · 04-10-2006, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TahoeJeff

I'm still new to the recording stuff, so correct me if I'm wrong, but the compressor pretty much just makes the track louder?

Sort of, but not really. You'd think that it was amplifying the sound because you can turn things up louder without clipping or peaking, but it actually does the opposite. Compression decreases the dynamic range of a sound. It takes all the signal that's over a user assigned threshold and automatically turns it down by a certain ratio. Signal that is not over the threshold is uneffected.

For example, when you record a vocal track without compression, it has a very broad dynamic range. What this means is that there are parts which are very loud and parts which aren't that loud in comparison in the same track. This happens because of the nature of singing, you're just going to sing certain parts louder than others because of the dynamics of the song, emotion, or because of how much air you take in, etc. The problem is that when you mix the uncompressed vocal track in, you're going to have a hard time hearing everything. You're most likely going to turn the track down because the loud parts are too loud. A compressor gives the track a much more even range, making everything almost the same volume.

The same goes for instruments such as drums, bass, acoustic guitar, and many more. Also, a stereo compressor is important to use on your overall mix for the same reason. It will make the mix much more "punchy," because it will even out the louder parts. This lets you turn the song up louder without hurting your ears because certain parts are a lot louder than others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TahoeJeff

Here's a link to the new version.

Yeah, it's sounding much better.